NCAA Preview 2012: Five Things You Need to Know About No. 33 Mount St. Mary's

Last year, The Mount was able to compete in its Northeast Conference, which increased excitement around the program, especially for the conference matchups against natural rivals.

And, Mount St. Mary's was able to bring the conference championship game to Emmitsburg, Md. But the NEC does not yet have an automatic qualifier, and coach Tom Gravante's job will be to continue that momentum through the 2013 season.

That starts with defending that title this year with a senior-laden team. But Gravante is confident — with some new recruits and redshirts that will be back in 2013 — that momentum will still be rolling for when The Mount can earn an AQ to the NCAA Tournament.

1. Doing work early

Mount St. Mary's lacrosse players got to campus and started spring practice right away. The team started out with a fit test on Jan. 8, then got right into double sessions that entire week. On Saturday, the team scrimmaged.

The college began classes early this week, so players were given a few days off to get into an academic routine before hitting the field again.

"If we continue to keep that blue-collar work ethic in practice, we'll do great things in these scrimmages and these first couple of games," Gravante says.

On Jan. 28, the Mountaineers will travel to Lehigh for a scrimmage.

And the first part of the season is an uphill battle, starting with Delaware (did not play last year), Virginia at home (lost 22-6 in 2011), Towson away (lost 11-3) last year and Georgetown (lost 13-7) within their first five games.

2. 1-2 punch

Mount St. Mary's has one of the more prolific duos on attack with Brett Schmidt (34G, 16A) and Andrew Scalley (38, 13). That's more than 50 points each.

“They're dynamite,” he says. “They're quick as lightning.”

Gravante points out that among the elite teams in Division I, successful programs usually have two attackmen among the top five in scoring. The Mount didn't have that for many years, but Gravante says: “That's the key having attackmen be the leaders in points.”

There will be a mix-up on attack with Cody Lehrer taking a redshirt year this season, but those two will be looking to distribute the ball a little better in 2012.

“We're trying to get them to become more complete attackmen and feed the ball a little bit better this year,” he says.

3. The man in the cage

Sophomore Chris Klaiber takes the reins in net this year after sitting behind T.C. DiBartolo, the MVP of the NEC Tournament, NEC Defensive Player of the Year and the all-time saves leader in Mount history.

But Klaiber will still have DiBartolo to guide him, as Gravante retained the goalie as an assistant coach on his staff. Gravante says it will be good to have a coach who can relate specifically to the goalies. And, “I can't throw it as hard as I used to, so it's nice to have the youth out there working with the kids” he says.

Klaiber had an impressive showing in fallball against Cornell at the Nick Colleluori Classic, a game The Mount lost, 9-8.

“He certainly did (solidify the starting role),” Gravante says.

In addition, Klaiber was impressive and healthy in the first week of preseason practice.

4. Things to improve

Gravante was happy with fallball, but one issue that came up was clearing. With the team taking on an underdog role in many of the games this season, it's a thing like clearing that will either put them in a position to pull off an upset, or put them in a hole against a talented team.

“You can't give teams like that more than one chance,” he says.

“We're working on that now,” Gravante says about clearing. “Defensively you want to play under the philosophy of one-and-done. They get one shot, then we clear the ball.”

The Mountaineers are looking to increase scoring on the crease. Gravante wants the attackmen to make smarter decisions and be looking to the crease more often for scoring.

5. Years to come

Gravante has offered three of his seniors a unique opportunity to spread their college playing careers over five years, an arrangement that looks like a win-win for the program and the athletes.

Attackman Lehrer, who led the team in goals in two of his three playing years, lefty midfielder Eric Ososki and starting LSM Mark Burns will be taking a redshirt year. They plan on entering the MBA program at The Mount and playing their final year of eligibility as graduate students.

It allows Gravante — who is returning some redshirt players and has recruited some guys to fill the void — to spread his talent across another year. For the players, it gives them a great opportunity academically and to increase their marketability, but also a chance to compete for an automatic qualifier bid in 2013.

The NEC Tournament does not currently get an AQ, but Gravante believes this will happen for the 2013 seeason.

“He hasn't taken a back seat in terms of training,” Gravante says of Lehrer. “He's done a great job of staying on top of it.”

Caleb Holt, a UMBC transfer, can help fill Lehrer's role. Junior Jake Willertz — another natural lefty — is back after a hamstring injury, and the LSM spot could be filled by junior John Anderson or sophomore Brett Shukri.

Best Bet: The defense

Gravante returns his three close defensemen: Senior Brendan Rooney, junior Kevin Downs and sophomore Tim Durkin. While Klaiber may not have much experience in the net, he'll have plenty around him.

Sleeper Pick: Connor Carey, midfield, junior (2,2)

Gravante says midfielder Connor Carey could be "a force to be reckoned with." That's no surprise: He's listed as 6-foot-5, 225 pounds. Christian Kellett, a senior middie, quietly did good things for the program last year and could be poised to break out.

Game to Watch: at Bryant, April 7

Last season, the Bulldogs edged past Mount St. Mary's, 9-8, in game that went to two overtimes on The Mount's home turf. A week later the Mountaineers responded with a win in the NEC semifinals. You can bet both teams remember that week, and this year's matchup could be key for conference tournament implications.

Inside Lacrosse is previewing the top 40 Division I lacrosse teams based on Face-Off Yearbook ranking. Check back each day until opening weekend for more, as well as Division II, III and women's previews.